Historical slavery and (de)colonisation

News

• Interactive map shows largely overlooked history of Asian slavery

  Researchers at the International Institute of Social History (IISG) have presented a new database that reconstructs the Asian slave trade, according to NOS. VU professor of colonial and post-colonial history Wim Manuhutu explains that this new map offers insights for new research. “With certain areas where many enslaved people are transported, you immediately ask the question of why. And you wonder if there are particular economic activities there.”

• Guno Jones appointed as Professor Anton de Kom Chair

  The Executive Board of VU Amsterdam has appointed Guno Jones as Professor to the 'Anton de Kom Chair in the History of Colonialism and Slavery and Their Contemporary Social, Cultural, and Legal Impact,' effective from December 1st.

• Tula receives reparation

  Tula, the leader of the largest slave uprising in the Antilles, has received reparation from the Dutch government for the way he was treated by administrators at the time. By taking this step, the government is committing itself to socioeconomic reparations, says professor of legal philosophy Wouter Veraart in Trouw. Veraart also discussed this on NPO Radio 1 and in the AD (all in Dutch).

• Knowledge centre for the history of slavery in Zeeland

  “I thought it was a good idea straight away,” says VU historian Dienke Hondius about the plan for a national knowledge centre on the history of slavery in Zeeland, on the radio show Zeeland Komt Thuis. Hondius has been nominated to map out whether such a centre can be achieved. “Historically, a lot has happened in Zeeland. So I’m motivated to see whether the centre can get off the ground.” More information can also be found in the AD article (in Dutch).

• Jos van Beurden: Looted art needs a common plan

  Exhibiting looted art does not have to be a no-go, as long as it’s done with caution, argues looted art researcher Jos van Beurden in Trouw (in Dutch, subscription only). “For me, the important thing is whether it’s done in consultation, preferably on the basis of a common plan. Then, for example, Indonesia will also benefit and the exhibition can travel to Jakarta.”

• Looted art: the story of the “Kris of KlungKung”

  The Netherlands is returning hundreds of works of art to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. One of these pieces is from the KlungKung principality in Bali: the “Kris” is a 30 cm dagger decorated with pink, green and gold that Dutch soldiers confiscated after a massacre. Jos van Beurden, VU Amsterdam researcher into colonial collections and restitution issues, tells the incredible story of this dagger in the NPO Radio 1 broadcast on 10 July (in Dutch).

• Netherlands: King has apologized for slavery, but then what?

  King Willem-Alexander has made a formal apology to mark 160 years since the Netherlands abolished slavery. Could this nudge European leaders closer to reparations? One person who was watching the exact wording of Willem-Alexander's speech closely is Wouter Veraart, professor of legal philosophy at VU Amsterdam. He shares his insights in Deutsche Welle. 

• University library launches thematic collection about the history of slavery

  On the occasion of the Slavery Memorial Year, a thematic collection will be put together in the reading room of the University librabry with the help of VU researchers and other experts in the field.

  The thematic collection focuses on the Dutch history of slavery and its effects on society.

• Why are we only talking about the history of slavery now?

  After years of discussion, King Willem-Alexander apologised for the Netherlands’ history of slavery. Historian Pepijn Brandon answers four questions from EenVandaag about slavery (article in Dutch).

• Jews who fled were able to preserve their culture in the colonies

  Several VU scientists took part in the series “Ons koloniale verleden in vijftig voorwerpen” (Our colonial past in fifty objects) by Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant. Jessica Roitman talks about a synagogue in Curaçao: “Jews were closely involved in the Dutch colonisation of America right from the start,” she writes (article in Dutch).

• Anton de Kom Chair in the History of Colonialism and Slavery to the VU

  On 19 June 2023, in consultation with the family and the Anton de Kom Foundation, the Dutch cabinet decided to finance an Anton de Kom Chair. The Chair focuses on research into the colonial history, the legacy of slavery and its consequences.

  Anton de Kom was a Surinamese-Dutch anti-colonial resistance hero and author of the book We Slaves of Suriname in which he describes the colonial oppression and resistance of the Afro-Surinamese people against Dutch colonial rule. The book had a major impact on the awareness and struggle for independence in both Suriname and other parts of the colonial world.

  Read more: Rijksoverheid (only in Dutch), VU.nl, NOS (only in Dutch)

• "Acknowledging the entire colonial past"

  "The fact that you hear more about one side of history than the other 'has a lot to do with which side is being kept alive'." In NRC on 4 June 2023 (only in Dutch), Assistant Professor in Colonial and Post-Colonial Citizenship Guno Jones talks about the differences between transatlantic slavery and the practice of slavery in other territories. 

• Guide to Church and Historical Slavery confirms the involvement of the church in slavery

  Dutch churches were institutionally involved in slavery, according to new research by VU Amsterdam and others. Historian Dienke Hondius explains the findings on NOS Radio 1 (only in Dutch). "Very quickly they began establishing churches in all of the colonial areas along the coasts," she says. Take Fort Elmina, for example, which was a centre of the slave trade in the 17^th century. "If you consider that a minister lived there for all those centuries, among the enslaved people who were being traded there, you can hardly imagine what that was like." Whether the church was actually involved in slave trading is not yet entirely clear, according to Hondius.

• Bittersweet

  Slavery, exploitation and obesity – the history of sugar is coloured by abuse, explains Professor of History Ulbe Bosma to NRC (only in Dutch) following the publication of his book The World of Sugar. Still, recent developments give him hope. "You now see a large group of people who are concerned about nature and climate change, and also about our unhealthy way of life. So, for the first time since the eighteenth century, a consumer movement could emerge to reform the sugar industry."

• Amsterdam's history of slavery: an overview

  Who were Amsterdam's slave owners? VU historian Dienke Hondius, along with her students and researchers from the National Archives and the Amsterdam City Archives, is making an overview of slave owners (only in Dutch) who lived in the Netherlands at the time of the abolition of slavery in 1863. 

• Predecessors of ABN AMRO actively involved in slavery

  Professor of Global Economic and Social History Pepijn Brandon, with a team of seven researchers, was commissioned by ABN AMRO to research the bank's historical predecessors and their involvement in slavery (only in Dutch). The study provides new knowledge about Hope & Co and R. Mees & Zoonen and their involvement in the slave trade.

• Golden Coach made with Surinamese gold

  The gold used on the Golden Coach has been shown to have come from Suriname. Professor of Petrology Gareth Davies collaborated with the Amsterdam Museum, the Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science+ (NICAS) and the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre to research the origin of the gold used on the Golden Coach. Where the gold leaf covering the gilded carriage came from has long been unknown. An extensive study compared the composition of the gold with samples from Suriname and South Africa.

• How much did the Netherlands profit from slavery?

  On the show Met het Oog op Morgen, which aired on NPO Radio 1 on 30 December 2022 (only in Dutch), Professor of Global Economic and Social History Pepijn Brandon talks about the money the Netherlands gained from the slave trade.

• Our colonial past in 50 artefacts

  In de Volkskrant on 6 July 2022 (only in Dutch), Professor of Critical Heritage Studies Wayne Modest talks about the committee of experts he led with Valika Smeulders, Head of History at the Rijksmuseum. They compiled a list of 50 artefacts that give a more complete picture of our colonial history.

• “Giving back looted artwork doesn’t make colonialism okay”

  In an article of Oneworld.nl on 23 June 2022, VU Amsterdam researcher and Director of the Tropenmuseum Wayne Modest talks about colonial heritage and how the new permanent exhibition showcases colonialism (only in Dutch).

Opinion

• Michael Davies Venn: “Alarming that Africa should also pay for the indemnification of slavery”

  In Ad Valvas on 16 June 2023, PhD student Michael Davies Venn writes about the decimation of African cultures by Europeans who evangelise their civilization.

• Wouter Veraart: "The King can restore honour rebellion leader Tula by declaring colonial slavery a crime"

  In NRC on 31 May 2023 (only in Dutch), Professor of Legal Philosophy Wouter Veraart answers the question of how the Dutch government can honour slavery rebellion leader Tula.

• Ruben Gowricharn: "The colonial past involved more than just slavery"

  In NRC on 1 May 2023 (only in Dutch), sociologist Ruben Gowricharn argues that the colonial past involved more than just slavery and had a different meaning for people of Hindu origin.

• Wybren Verstegen: "Africa must also contribute to compensation for slavery"

  In Ad Valvas on 21 March 2023 (only in Dutch), VU lecturer Wybren Verstegen addresses the question of who profited from slavery. According to him, it was not only the big Dutch corporations, but also African rulers.

• Nancy Jouwe: "The next step after Rutte's comma is education"

  In De Groene Amsterdammer on 1 February 2023 (only in Dutch), cultural historian Nancy Jouwe looks at Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s apology for Dutch involvement in slavery and his statement "not a full stop, but a comma". According to Jouwe, it is time to brush up on our knowledge of the past and its repercussions. 

• Maurice Crul: "Who pays reparations for slavery?"

  In Ad Valvas on 1 February 2023 (only in Dutch), Professor of Education and Diversity Maurice Crul points to the financial interest that slavery represented. According to him, large Dutch companies profited from the Dutch colonial system. "The pain and suffering of the enslaved people impact the present. And the profiteers of that suffering are also represented in the present." 

• Paul van Lange: "Apologising for slavery goes beyond just saying sorry"

  In Het Parool on 14 December 2022 (only in Dutch), Professor of Psychology Paul van Lange argues that expressing regret about slavery is not that simple.

Agenda

• Past events

  11 November: Theatre performance ‘Ik zeg toch sorry?’

  What does it mean to say sorry in 2022 for something that seems so long ago? On 11 November, there will be a showing of Raymi Sambo's theatre performance ‘Ik zeg toch sorry?’ (only in Dutch) at VU Griffioen. It is about our shared history of slavery, however unjustly the roles were divided.

  9 October: Martin Luther King lecture

  In this year's Martin Luther King Lecture, we will join Anthony Bogues in looking at the contributions of activism and protest against the injustices stemming from the history of slavery, and the relevance of King's ideas – as outlined in his work Why We Can't Wait – to today's world. 

  7 June: PhD defence 'Race and Religion. Re-membering their displacements, supersessions, and geographies’
  On 7 June 2023, Matthea Westerduin defended her dissertation on race and religion.

  15 June: Beyond Return, a guided tour of the VU ART SCIENCE gallery
  During the Déjà VU festival on 15 June, Professor of Contemporary Art History Katja Kwastek and artist Aram Lee discussed colonial heritage and Aram Lee's work "Tropical Objects, Turns", during a tour of the VU ART SCIENCE gallery.

  29 June: Can you talk about race without talking about history?
  On 29 June, join a critical forum about the perception of historical oppression in relation to the present. 

  6 July: What does the future of theology look like in a postcolonial era?

  In the postcolonial era, how can non-Christian religions gain equal footing with academic institutions stamped by Western Christianity? What does the future of theology and religious studies look like? The seminar 'The Future of Theology and Religious Studies' will revolve around these questions.

  7 July: PhD defence "A Certain Class of Undesirables"

  On 7 July, Nawal Mustafa will defend her dissertation on the regulation of interracial intimacy in the British national context between 1948 and 1968.

  17-29 July: Summer school in Indonesia ‘“The Empire Writes Back” Revisited - Imagination, (Post)Colonial and Transnational Dialogues’

  From 17 to 29 July 2023, VU Amsterdam is organising a summer school in Indonesia and online, in cooperation with the Universitas Gadjah Mada. Students from the Netherlands and Indonesia engage in a dialogue covering postcolonial and transnational perspectives on the colonial past of Indonesia and other former colonies. Sources for these conversations comprise the study of historical, literary and new media sources from both countries.

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